Britt Scharringhausen

Britt Scharringhausen is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Physics at Beloit College, holding the Dobson Endowed Chair in Physics. She specializes in planetary astronomy, focusing on Saturn's rings and satellites using Cassini spacecraft data. Her research employs tools like IDL and Python for photometric and positional analysis. She is deeply committed to advancing equity in STEM for underrepresented groups including women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people of color.

Education: B.S. from University of Iowa; M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Courses taught include General Physics, Introductory Astronomy, Math Methods in Physics, and Quantum Mechanics.

Research interests integrate planetary ring dynamics with advocacy for inclusive STEM environments. Recent work examines vertical displacements in Saturn's F ring using Cassini RPX data. Over 20 years of contributions span adaptive optics observations of Saturn's moons and ground-based ring-plane crossing analyses.

Awards include the prestigious Dobson Endowed Chair. Advising focuses on undergraduate involvement in ring photometry and positional studies. Active in astronomy outreach through Beloit's Physics & Astronomy Club, including Fermilab visits and student symposium presentations on smart buildings and space exploration.